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Popular school leader suspects racism after sidelining; superintendent denies accusation

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Maricopa County Regional School District Superintendent Ernest Rose and local dignitaries at the groundbreaking of the former campus of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth, which was built at South Mountain Community College.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

The former campus of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth, which was built at South Mountain Community College.
Stefan Yarish, CAPS Photo International/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

The former campus of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth, which was built at South Mountain Community College.
Stefan Yarish, CAPS Photo International/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

The former campus of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth, which was built at South Mountain Community College.
Stefan Yarish, CAPS Photo International/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Graduates of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Graduates of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Students at Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Students at Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Students at Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Students at Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Students at Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

A sign for Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Students at Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Maricopa County Regional School District Superintendent Ernest Rose (far left) and local dignitaries at the groundbreaking of the former campus of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth, which was built at South Mountain Community College.
Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic

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Hope College and Career Readiness Academy

Maricopa County Regional School District Superintendent Ernest Rose and local dignitaries at the groundbreaking of the former campus of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth, which was built at South Mountain Community College.

The award-winning leader of a school district for at-risk kids says he is being forced to stay home for a year collecting a $180,000 salary by a Republican politician trying to seize control of the district.

Ernest Rose, who runs the Maricopa County Regional School District, has rallied community support to go back to work. He alleges racism in the decision to sideline him.

The Regional School District operates schools that focus on nontraditional and at-risk students, including Southwest Keys Transitional Learning Centers, A New Leaf Transitional Center and the Mesa and Durango youth detention centers.

"I put a lot of myself and my own personal career on the back burner to keep this district afloat, and it feels now as though I'm being tossed to the side," Rose said. "The population which we serve, no one else was able to serve them."

Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson, who oversees the district, says his goal since being elected in 2016 has been to improve schools and empower teachers, even if it means making tough personnel changes.

He said several of Rose's schools have performed poorly, failed to attract enough students and need new leadership. He denied Rose's accusations of racism.

Rose is one of more than a dozen employees that have been cut or have left the Regional School District and the county school superintendent's office, which supports teachers around the Valley, since Watson took over last year.

Many cuts were because of grants that expired, but Watson has also eliminated programs he deemed too expensive,including teacher-training courses that schools across the state found to be instrumental in improving kids' classroom success.

Overall, the county educational agency's budget shrank by $17.5 million this year.

"I think a lot of people have misinterpreted what we're trying to do," said Watson, a Republican and former high-school media-production teacher. "These shifts with the Regional School District aren't things I've made lightly on a whim. I've spent the first two school years in my office evaluating what we're doing at the Regional School District. We're doing a good job, but we need to be doing a better job."

Watson takes over

As Maricopa County school superintendent, Watson oversees the Regional School District.His office also fills K-12 and community-college board vacancies, runs school district elections, handles certain school finances and helps schools achieve academic goals.

Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson(Photo: Maricopa County School Superintendent's Office/Special For The Republic)

"I began to think he's not interested in the work we're doing," said Rose, who became superintendent of the accommodation district in 2008 after serving as principal of the district's former Thomas J. Pappas School for the homeless.

Watson acknowledges a hands-off management style that didn't seem to work with Rose.

"My whole vibe has been, 'Let's trust people and give people freedom and autonomy,' " Watson said. "(Rose) and I always struggled to communicate. ... We were never really comfortable with each other."

Watson invited teachers to take what they wanted on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the office's news releases and staffers.

Watson decided it was better to give donations directly to teachers than districts and said the items could be used by science clubs and in classroom projects.

But Rose believed the county school superintendent was not following proper procedures for documenting the items, their value and the recipients.

He refused to assist Watson in approving the allocations.

"I was not wanting to be involved in anything that didn't seem to be on the up and up," Rose said. "I think his lack of confidence in me is my inability to just go with whatever he says."

Watson's spokeswoman Laurie King said Rose misunderstood the regulations. The only legal requirement was for Watson to sign a form accepting the donation, King said.

The items were of so little value that they were destined for a landfill if teachers didn't claim them for class projects, she said.

"Nobody financially benefited from it," she said.

Moving Rose out

Shortly after the conflict, Rose said he learned he would be replaced but received no explanation.

Watson said he wants new leadership because he is concerned about district schools struggling to enroll students, raise academic scores and retain teachers.

"I'm committed to doing everything I can to help kids in Maricopa County," Watson said. "That is what is precipitating the change. We aren't doing a very good job with these kids, and we can do a better job."

Allegations of racism

"(Watson has) never been comfortable with me at all," Rose said. "The simple fact that he wanted to replace me with an Anglo individual with no experience speaks volumes."

Community leaders such as Arizona House Democratic Leader Rebecca Rios have petitioned Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson to put Maricopa County Regional School District Superintendent Ernest Rose back to work.(Photo: Cheryl Evans/The Republic)

Watson agreed he and Rose seemed to rub each other the wrong way but rejected accusations of racism. Watson said he has recruited a diverse array of teachers to advise him, including educators who are African-American.

He added that replacing top staffers is common when elected officials come into office.

"There is an expectation the administrative structure is going to get flushed," Watson said.

Community leaders such as Arizona House Democratic Leader Rebecca Rios, former county NAACP President Dr. Ann Hart, retired Regional School District employee Corinne Frank and organizational development expert Gail Knight have petitioned Watson to put Rose back to work.

"It's very important to see African-American male role models in these positions," Hart said. "It seems like we're going to be short-changed as an African-American community."

Rose's successes and failures

Maricopa County Regional School District Superintendent Ernest Rose (far left) and local dignitaries at the groundbreaking of the former campus of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth, which was built at South Mountain Community College.(Photo: Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic)

Rose and his supporters say there wasn't a good reason for Watson to dismiss him.

Rose earned an "exemplary" rating, the highest level, on his 2017 performance review from Watson.

The county school superintendent praised Rose's "hard work and dedication to kids" and called him a "great superintendent" in written notes.

This year, Rose was a finalist for National Superintendent of the Year from the National Association of School Superintendents.

The district improved by several measures under Rose despite challenges.

The district's schools face high levels of poverty, students who arrive not speaking English, students testing far below grade level, and students cycling in and out of the district within weeks.

District enrollment more than doubled from Rose's first year in 2008 to 2018 and the total number of credits earnedby all students increased dramatically during that same time, district data provided by Rose show.

But the district has also stumbled under Rose.

New schools that Rose opened, Esperanza Prep and Hope College and Career Readiness Academy in south Phoenix, have struggled to attract students, according to Watson and school data.

The schools have posted AzMERIT standardized test scores that Watson said should be higher, even considering the at-risk student population.

The district's GED certificate attainment rate is down and recidivism is up compared with 2008, numbers provided by Rose show.

And the district became embroiled in a nearly $13 million lawsuit over unpaid construction bills for Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, an innovative high school for disconnected youth whose construction Rose oversaw.

The gleaming new building opened on the South Mountain Community College Campus in one of the county's highest-need areas.

The academy was supposed to attract 400 students the first year and max out at 800. The Arizona Department of Education counted 166 students in the first year.

A bond deal to raise $16.5 million fell apart while the school was going up.

After students had spent a year in the building, the Maricopa County Community College District board terminated the school's lease.

Maricopa County Regional School District Superintendent Ernest Rose (left) with former Maricopa County School Superintendent Don Covey at the groundbreaking of the former campus of Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, a school for disconnected youth, which was built at South Mountain Community College.(Photo: Maricopa County Regional School District/Special For The Republic)

Core Construction recently settled its lawsuit seeking payment.

The Maricopa County Community College District purchased the building and the Maricopa County School Superintendent's Office was not required to pay, Watson said.

Watson said he doesn't blame Rose solely for Hope's problems.

"It was a lot of people not having a plan in place before executing," the county school superintendent said.

But Watson criticized a "build-it-and-they-will-come mentality" that he believes led Rose to begin offering services other schools provided.

Watson said he has no immediate plans to close Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, which moved to a rented facility.

However, Watson warned he could close district programs in the future.

New TVs and a pingpong table

Watson has shifted the agency's focus away from education, five former employees say.

The office's website and social media channels now promote Watson with large photos of the county school superintendent and a "Where's Watson" video feature. He expanded his public-relations staff with longtime Republican consultant Shane Wikfors, who earns about $80,000.

A lunch bag that Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson ordered to give to teachers with his name on it.(Photo: Special For The Republic)

Watson also spent about $5,000 on bobblehead pens and lunch sacks with his name and face on them that he gives to teachers, Watson's spokeswoman King said.

Another $1,000 went to big-screen televisions for displaying PowerPoints, she said. The county school superintendent's office now sports a pingpong table, putting green and portable bowling pins that he and King said they brought from home.

"I want people to like coming to work," he said.

Advisory board disbanded

Besides his actions against Rose, Watson has made other significant — and controversial — changes.

This year, he disbanded a Regional School District advisory board.

Unlike most school systems that have multiperson governing boards, the county superintendent is the Regional School District's only board member.

Harry Garewal, a former Arizona School Board Association president who served on the Regional School District advisory board said Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson frequently canceled the group's meetings and rarely talked to members.(Photo: Republic file photo)

Harry Garewal, a former president of the Arizona School Board Association who served on the advisory council, said Watson frequently canceled the group's meetings and rarely talked to members.

"The email from Mr. Watson ... explaining our services would no longer be needed was a bit of a surprise," Garewal said. "The advisory council was providing a great service... It was beneficial for the superintendent to (receive) direction on behalf of the community at large."

Watson terminated the group because of the lawsuit against Hope College and Career Readiness Academy, the county school superintendent said.

Several members had relationships that could be considered a conflict of interest, Watson said.

"My intention is to have an advisory board" with new members, Watson said. "We always want to be as transparent as we possibly can."

Watson has been without a district advisory board for more than a year.

Slashing staff, programs

Meanwhile, the school superintendent's office has shrunk under Watson.

More than a dozen positions have been cut, programs have been eliminated and the upcoming budget will shrink by $17.5 million, documents show.

Many of the jobs would have gone away no matter who held office because of grant funding expiring, King said. Others were not financially self-sustaining.

Among the programs that were slashed were classes for educators to improve their teaching skills in science, math, language arts and working with children who have experienced trauma, former employees said.

The programs were free or cost less than most consultants charge and were open to any school in the state.

Principal Annamarie Dowling-Garrott brought the trauma-informed teaching program to Dos Rios Elementary School in the West Valley last year.

The Maricopa County trainer provided "invaluable" strategies for handling kids who have behavioral problems after witnessing violence, hunger, abuse or other adverse childhood experiences, Dowling-Garrott said.

Losing the low-cost training is disappointing given tight school budgets, she said.

"Anytime support and resources decrease, it widens the gap of how we serve our kids," Dowling-Garrott said.

As a replacement, Watson has introduced low-cost alternatives such as highlighting schools on social media, gathering teacher feedback on education issues, compiling a directory of free classroom activities and informing teachers about the political process, King said.

"We looked at why Steve ran for office and that was for teachers," she said. "We landed on three priority areas of teacher advocacy, elevating the profession and providing resources directly to teachers."

If programs are offered elsewhere, Watson is reluctant to duplicate them, King said.

"We're trying to stay in our lane and do the role of government, not the role of a small business," she said.